Korea v Netherlands

Pool B

Match Report

The Netherlands were already qualified for the semi-finals while Korea needed a win to have a slim hope of going through, depending on the result of Germany later in the day against New Zealand.

First chances were for Rogier Hofman after ten minutes of play. Following a powerful shot, he picked up the rebound from the goalkeeper and had plenty of time to adjust a second shot, but Lee Myung Ho in the Korean goal was up to the task on both occasions. The teams were offering an enjoyable display of attacking hockey, with superior individual skills on both sides, and the crowd quickly warmed up in the chilly early morning.

The Netherlands earned a penalty-corner mid-way through the period and Mink Van Der Weerden slammed it in goal to open the scoring. Soon after, Valentin Verga surprised the Korean defense with a sudden shot from the top of the circle and the Dutch team appeared on their way to a comfortable fifth win. Korea was however not ready to give up yet. They had a series of penalty-corners in the final minutes of the period, but Jang Jong Hyun’s flicks were saved by Jaap Stockmann in the Dutch goal and the break was reached with the two goal gap.

Korea kept trying and had a few good chances early in second period, first for Lee Nam Yong on a ball rolling tantalizingly on the goal line behind Jaap Stockmann, then by Kim Young Jin who collected a long ball high behind the Dutch defense but failed to redirect it past Stockmann. Their hopes of coming back were dashed when Roderick Weusthof was fouled when progressing in the circle and converted himself the penalty-stroke to build a seemingly insurmountable 3-goal lead.

Nam Hyun Woo closed the gap on penalty-corner with still 16 minutes left in the period. He however injured himself delivering the flick and had to be taken away on a stretcher. Korea showed their depth in the exercise when Jang Jong Hyun was as impressive and efficient on the next penalty-corner chance, closing the gap to one goal. It was too close for comfort for The Netherlands and they promptly re-established their two-goal lead by Billy Bakker after a swift counter-attack that baffled the Korean defense.

With the win, The Netherlands finished unbeaten in the group stage and advanced to the semi-finals as winner of Pool B, while the Koreans will have to wait for the other matches of the day to know their fate.

(Yan Huckendubler)

Match Review

Teun DE NOOIJER (NED)

On Netherlands' match against Korea: "It was not a superb game today, we created a lot of chances and scored four goals, but you could see that the real edge and sharpness was not there. It is quite early, but we don't want to make up excuses, we can and will have to do better in the semifinals."

On his record of 33 Olympic appearances: "That is not something I think about right now, here and now there is only one thing that counts, but it is something I will be proud of after these Games."

On former record holders Surjeet SINGH PANESAR (KEN) and Ric CHARLESWORTH (AUS): "They are two big players from before my time, but Ric CHARLESWORTH is still involved in hockey and is here at this tournament. I definitely see myself staying involved in hockey too after these Games. Maybe as an assistant or coach sometime, we'll see."

On his first international match: "I remember that, it was a friendly match against New Zealand in Liempde. I went on to the pitch in the first half of the game and I was shaking like a leaf. Ever since, I have always given my all in every game I played."

On his first Olympic Games at Atlanta 1996: "That too, was very exciting. I had already played at a world championship and we went to Atlanta for the gold. I really tried to do my bit to achieve that. To me, my first Games is still my Olympic highlight so far. To go there, competing at an Olympics for the first time, and then bring home the gold, that was amazing."

On how hockey has changed: "The game has become much faster. At that time (Atlanta 1996), players used to be on the pitch for a full 70 minutes. Nowadays you play six or seven minutes at a time, giving 100% and at such a high intensity. Then, you come off the pitch, have a few minutes to catch your breath, and you're on again."

JANG Jong Hyun (KOR)

On Korea's performance: "We wish we had won, but we worked together, and we all did our best. In the first half we ran very fast and did very well, but when the Dutch team got their first goal it went downhill."

On their classification match: "We have one more game. We will find out which team we will face before we decide on what plans and tactics we will use."

SEO Jongho (KOR)

On Korea's defeat to Netherlands and the tournament in general: "We had a chance to reach the semifinals if we had won today but Holland played very well. I think they are the best in the world. In my opinion our group was very difficult with both Holland and Germany in it, they are at a higher level than we are right now."

Mink VAN DER WEERDEN (NED)

On their semifinal match: "I'm looking forward to our semifinal match and hoping for more of the same fantastic Dutch support. We're not bothered who we face, although maybe not Great Britain, as that will be a tough crowd (laughs). Maybe our support would help then."

On his drag-flicking: "I practise between 100 and 150 flicks every week, so I'm quite confident when taking a penalty corner. You can never be 100% with your flicks, but I've been pretty lucky this tournament. I'm happy with how I've performed."

On his hockey role model: "(Teun) DE NOOIJER (NED) would be my inspiration. I love his drive, how much he loves the game and that he's still playing at his age (36)."

Roderick WEUSTHOF (NED)

On the match: "We did a great job today, tt was an easy game and an easy win. We were not worried even when Korea scored two goals, but we cannot make the same sloppy mistakes in our semifinal."

On the semifinal: "We're confident whoever we face, but there is so much going on in the other pool it will be hard to tell. We'll play our best game. We've got five out of five matches, 15 points, we want the gold."

Valentin VERGA (NED)

On his team's confidence: "It's really not about goals or individuals, it's about the team. We are operating like a team and that's what counts. We have a really big confidence at the moment but we have won nothing yet. We have to play the semifinals, if we win there we will have confidence to play the final."

Paul VAN ASS (NED) - coach

On Netherlands' performance against Korea and in pool B: "There wasn't any pressure on the (Korea) match so it was difficult to play a higher rhythm. I'm glad that we won. We feel strong and I told the boys that I am proud to have 15 points from the five games and we never dropped anything, which is nice. We are happy."

On their potential semifinal opponents: "Pakistan v Australia is interesting. It's a big surprise, but I think Australia will be stronger. In the other game, GB (Great Britain) has the home advantage and Spain has one player less as a substitute. I would like to play against GB in the semifinal because I like to win in the home country, in this case GB. I expect Australia to win and Great Britain to come second. I am very confident about the way we are playing. The penalty corners are going very smoothly, the attack is going very well, as we like it. If we want we can score goals so if we go behind, we don't get nervous and stick to the plan."

On the semifinals: "We will be really disappointed if we finish fourth, we don't deserve that. It's a shame you don't take your points from the pool stage to the semifinals. The semifinals is like a new tournament. All focus is now on building on the work we've done so far. We want to reach the final."

On the criticism he received when he selected his London 2012 squad: "I got a lot of criticism for who I selected but maybe you now understand why I selected this team."

On having Teun DE NOOIJER (NED) in the squad: "For the young players it is really nice that they train and play with him. You always need somebody to set the standard and the beautiful thing now is that the young players have such a high standard already. It's always nice that he is our standard and they work their way towards his standard. That's the most value I find I get from him."

Floris EVERS (NED)

On Teun DE NOOIJER (NED): "He's a great player and a great guy. He shares his experience with everyone, every training you see that he is really enjoying the game. After 20 years he is still one of the guys who gives 100% at every game."